The Rising
by SocksOffRocksOff
Summary: Jade West is a hunter of all things supernatural. Tori Vega is less than human. Two fates collide as Jade desperately searches for the only thing that can clear her debts. Will Tori be an asset or an enemy along the way? Alternate Universe guys, I just borrowed my favorite characters. Major Jori. Rated M for content and later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

The Rising

CH.1

There was a difference between dead and undead and, right now, Jade West was quickly starting to hate the way the eerie cemetery was setting her nerves on end. Which meant something was definitely wrong considering her love of all things dark and creepy. Sighing, the pale woman ran a hand through her long dark locks while gently tapping the loaded, wooden crossbow against her leg. The church bells sounded again. It was officially two in the morning and yet, to her growing agitation, the graveyard remained devoid of any action.

The whispers that landed her in a deserted cemetery at two in the morning on the holy day came from her usual informants; town gossips. It was the same in any land and the word in this town had been that for the last six weeks there had been reports of attacks on townspeople every Sunday after dusk. Now, Jade could've taken that one of two ways. The occurrences were either happening after midnight on Saturday or before midnight on the sacred day. Really, there was a third option; to ignore it. But, seeing as how the atmosphere in the tavern was charged with rumors of seeing humanlike figures attacking unsuspecting people she just had to investigate. Human-_like _was exactly her area of expertise.

Jade knew that her current reason for being in the America's was not to focus on anything other than what she had been hired to do. Wasting her time on her first week in the new country on what might be a case of a necromancer gone to the dark or maybe even a rogue sorcerer wasn't going to pay her debts but, being the hunter that she was, her interest was piqued and she couldn't just let it go. Unfortunately, as the time ticked by, it seemed that there wasn't much to hold onto anyways and she may have just wasted a precious two days' time on superstitious grumblings.

"Dammit," she hissed, kicking at a random tombstone. After checking all the graves to make sure they hadn't been disturbed upon arrival, the European had spent over four hours in the small town in California. It was bad enough she was expected to traverse this heated and rugged terrain looking for a dead man but she also had to do it when the Americans seemed to be at their worst.

As she turned to start back towards the humble inn she had taken to lodge in, a movement caught her attention. It was a simple flicker of light that caught in her peripheral for the briefest of moments- anyone who wasn't trained to pick up on such threats would have dismissed it immediately- but Jade knew better and had her bow at the ready within the second.

"Wer ist da?" The hunter questioned quickly in her native, German tongue then, after remembering where she was, reiterated with just as much force. "Who is there?"

A heavy silence was her answer for long moments but she didn't waver, just waited. Evil would present itself when most inopportune for her or when boredom set in for them. She wasn't in the business of presenting easy wins and was more than capable of waiting whatever it was out. Arrow trained on the darkness, another speedy movement to her right made her whip around on instinct. Then one more to her left, and then again in the other direction. If she kept this up, she would be dead from the whiplash alone. But, to her relief, the game quickly ended and out rushed a figure from the blackness in front of her.

Not taking the time a usual human would take to gawk and scream, she shot off two quick rounds hitting her attacker head on. Seeing the arrows pierce a broad, bare chest and not slow their target, she dove out of the way of the impending tackle. Rolling back onto her feet and rearming the bow, Jade let loose another arrow only to have it caught between ashen hands. Humanlike was right, Jade thought as she subtly tried to shake the growing unease out of her system. Standing before her was a very smug demi-demon.

She cursed under breathe at her obvious bad luck. Demi-demons ranged a wide variety of species and abilities. This one seemed humanoid upon first glance but, after looking closer, she could see where the skin seemed to sag loose around the man's frame. "Wendigo." Jade said utterly confident she now knew what she was dealing with.

"Cute, hunter." The gravelly voice sent an unpleasant tingle down her spine. The dark woman wanted to cringe at the sight of the mouth jerking haltingly with each word the beast spoke. "You are such a long way from home, no?"

"You are such a close proximity to death, yes?" Jade mocked the demi-demon outwardly, though her heart had not stopped its painful pounding in her chest. Never in Europe had she had to deal with a flesh eating demon that inhabited the bodies of the dead, and that left her lost as to how to kill one. The most she knew was a name and a vague description from a passing conversation on the subject of such monsters once.

The unfortunate corpse snapped its head back as its unwelcome inhabitant shrieked with laughter. "Such a brave hunter hmm? Or should I just consider you stupid girl?" The insult rolled right off of the woman's back as she was desperately trying figure a way out of this situation. Yep, this was definitely not in her job description.

"I would argue with you but you've got me there." She answered with a wry grin. She was going to die. She was going to be eaten by a demon in some random dead guys body, in a continent she despised, and all because she couldn't keep her nose out of other people's supernatural problems. This was just perfect.

He took a step forward. "You will make this easy for me no?"

"I'm sorry," Jade let her hands fall to her sides, "but I'm not an easy girl to get along with." And with that said, she snatched a silver tipped dagger off of the belt at her waist and sank it deep into its chest; praying to whatever gods were listening that this thing had a serious silver allergy.

Unfortunately the Wendigo just let loose another bone grating laugh and wrapped rigor stiffened arms around her body, crushing her to him. The smell of burning, rotting flesh hit her nose and her stomach rolled instantly. Leaning down to chuckle low in her ear, the demi-demon teased its prey before he feasted. "You came so willingly human. Perhaps you _are_ stupid? A pity really, on such a beauty like you."

He squeezed her harder into him, forcing a gasp from her lips but she remained as relaxed as possible. Her free hand was desperately searching for anything on her belt that would free her but her fingers only brushed handles and glass, not able to free anything in such small space. Leaning back, he stared into her guarded emerald orbs, admiring her defiance even in her hopeless position and prepared to strike.

Seeing his- not the corpse- but the actual jagged, gleaming teeth of the monster in the moonlight set her heart beating faster; if that was even possible. Oh God, she was really going to die. He leaned towards her neck and grazed the skin their but froze. Suddenly, his grip loosened and he spun around, a sound of complete agony passing through his borrowed lips.

Jade felt her knees give out in relief but all her training nearly instantly kicked back in and she caught herself on a tombstone, regaining a solid, defensive stance. It was wasted on the newly bloodied flesh of the corpses back though as her former captor remained turned from her.

Over the rapid rise and fall of his shoulder, Jade could just make out the slim figure of someone standing in front of the demi-demon. The initial surprise of her rescue wore off immediately as the corpse's sickly skin began a nasty crackling sound. Before she knew what had happened, before her stood nearly seven feet of muscly, scaly Wendigo. The smell of burnt, rotting flesh was all that was left behind as evidence to there ever having been a disguise.

"Tu canis! Carnem et ossa tollitis!" The cannibalistic half-demon roared with fury at his attacker. All pretenses dropped, the hunter was at a loss of words at the sight in front of her. While experienced for her twenty-two years of age, she had never encountered a demon this threatening before and had to fight savagely against the natural instinct to flee with her arms flailing in the air.

A distinctly female voice answered smoothly back to whatever curse was muttered in the Wendigo's Latin language. "Now Wennie-boy, there's really no need to throw such hurtful slurs around."

Whoever this woman was, she was certainly not afraid to taunt a massive creature from hell that looked like it was some fucked up hybrid; ram, goat, snake mix.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.2

**Okay guys wow! Just a quickie. Thanks for the views so fast people, I really appreciate it. If you're good to me, I promise I'll be so good to you. Read, Like, Comment. I'm always happy to get some helpful criticism. Btw, the Victorious Cast doesn't belong to me yada yada. Don't sue. Enjoy. **

Victoria Vega was currently mentally kicking herself. What self-respecting lycan would intentially put themselves in the middle of a fight between a demi-demon and an obvious hunter? Both were far from allies, but it was a well-known fact that a hunter would sooner kill her kind than a Wendigo would. If anything she should have grabbed a comfortable seat in a well hidden area and watched the show while enjoying a nice pint of ale. Unfortunately, the tavern had closed hours ago in this little miner's town and her conscious just wouldn't have anything to do with letting some human get themselves eaten.

But now she was stuck making a hard decision. She didn't know much about the demi-demon in front of her but she knew her human form wasn't going to cut it. At the same time though, Tori was well aware that revealing herself to this human could put her in more danger than just chancing it with the 'Whennie". While she wasn't worried that she couldn't handle some little huntress coming after her, Beck wouldn't be very happy with her exposing herself like that. She could always kill the human after finishing off the Wendigo but what the hell sense would that make? Tori was already in deep and she was just going to have to suck it up and see how it played out.

Eyeing the huge demi-demon in front of her, she couldn't help but smirk at his appearance. Demons were so ugly sometimes and he was no exception. She said as much, "No wonder you hide inside your dinner. With a face like that, I'd become a lowly parasite too."

"You bitch." He sneered at her. All of his teeth threatened to take over his scrunched, hairy face. The horns in his head curled to deadly points like a ram and the two thick legs he stood on ended in massive hooves. While the top half of the demons body was covered in a shiny skeletal armor, the lower half seemed to be all thick dark fur. He was easily the stuff of nightmares. Tori chuckled.

"Now I thought we agreed to cool it with the dog jokes." While she couldn't change form completely, nothing was stopping her from enhancing certain beneficial features. Clawing her hand, she revealed deadly nails to only the demi-demon in front of her.

"I don't make deals with your kind." He tensed, shifting as if readying to pounce.

With a glance to the woman she just saved, afforded a better view by the new stance of the beast in front of her, Tori was almost impressed at the other woman's fighting stance. She knew the dark beauty in front of her had come very close to death and yet, surprisingly, the woman met Tori's gaze head on; as if saying she would follow her lead.

Cocking her head smartly, Tori smiled a thin smile. "Good because I wasn't offering you one." Before more could be said, he was on her.

They collided like two solid rock structures. Neither budged but only met, hand in hand, grappling for dominance. Tori had hoped that she would be fast enough to rip through his chest to tear out his heart- she would have quickly claimed a lucky stab with the knife that was currently in her boot to the huntress- but that was not to be. She instantly realized there was going to be no fooling her completely.

Shaking out of her thoughts, Tori decided to just make it out alive without having to show her true hide. Slipping a foot behind his right hoof, the deceptively strong woman sent him flying over her shoulder and onto his back. Catching a glimpse of the hunter's surprised face she smirked, might as well enjoy it. How many times did one get to save one of those self-assured, asshole hunters anyway? Never. She was going to milk this. Beck be damned.

Spinning back towards her opponent, only to find him up and moving towards her at an alarming speed, Tori dodged another head on collision. As he stumbled, she kicked out and delivered a crushing sidekick to his knee joint. The snapping of bone was overly audible in the otherwise silent night. The demi-demon practically howled with pain.

She was about to deliver another kick to his face when something caught her by the side of her face and sent her headfirst into the hard packed dirt of semi-fresh grave. At first, she thought that the hunter was a half-wit and had attacked her. But when another set of equally large hooves came into view from her place on the ground, she felt dread begin to knot in her stomach.

Did Wendigo's travel in packs? She had no idea, demi-demons and demons were so various that she hadn't sat down to figure out every single minute detail of their breeds. But there was the niggling feeling that she had just walked face first into a hornets nest. Squinting up through her now messy brown locks, she could see the sneer of one very angry looking Wendigo. Huffing, Tori couldn't help but start kicking herself again. Damn stupid hunter and damn stupid conscious.

The words, 'fuck it', immediately ran through her head as she smiled inwardly, pleased that she had worn trousers instead of a stifling dress like the hunter was in. It was so much easier to replace men's clothes than it was to replace petticoats and frocks. With a violent twist of her body, she spun up and onto four very large midnight paws. While her kind were only slightly larger than normal wolves, they were stronger, faster, and more capable than their counterparts.

Snarling, Tori's sharp mind very accurately reevaluated her current predicament. There were five of them, not counting the one that she had fell earlier. Even though she was confident in her abilities, five demons was a bit much for one shape shifter to take on all at once. A distinct rustling made her ears perk and soon she was joined by the woman she had been trying to save. If Tori could talk she would have choked on her tongue in her attempt to convey her surprise.

"Look here," The woman's voice was low, melodious, and hinted at deep Germanic roots. "I'm not much for any type of evil. But I do know how and when to choose my battles, Ulf."

Tori just gave a huff at the obvious German slur for wolf. The hunter smiled a thin smile down at her and Tori could see a slight maniacal humor in those green orbs. The now wolf completely understood what it felt like to be crazy with relief. If the huntress wanted to make terrible jokes, who was she to argue? As long as they got out of this alive, the woman could throw a saddle on her back and call her pony.

Without much prompting after that, Tori threw herself onto the first Wendigo that she could get to. Her jaws snapped down on the beast's neck with a deadly force. Her mouth filled with the metallic tang of its blood as she tore the flesh right away with amazing ease. Not a second later she had downed another one and was really feeling herself.

When she had finished off demon number two, Tori turned and caught the third one in its hind leg with a solid swipe of her paw. It whipped around, taking its focus off of the huntress who had been doing a decent job at holding it back just long enough for the dark human to impale it through the back with a wicked looking blade.

Caught off guard while starring at the swift and efficient moves of what she thought was a completely helpless huntress, Tori heard more than felt the tearing away of thick flesh. It took her a breath to feel the excruciating searing pain of flesh separating from bone. Not stopping to comprehend what had happened, she let instinct take over and launched herself at the offending creature.

It was a mess of blood and gore as the black wolf dug enlarged canines into the thick hide of the demi-demon. When it was done, a wild and wounded Tori swung around, ready to attack, only to catch the tail end of the human cleanly separating the top part of the last Wendigo's scalp from the rest of its thick head.

Panting from not only the serious wound on her flank but also from just the exhilaration of the fight itself, Tori collapsed on her uninjured side. The thud of her hitting the ground made the human turn to face her, crossbow firmly locked in her direction.

If Tori wasn't burning through and through from the wound the damn demi-demon had inflicted on her, she would have mauled the woman's pretty face off. But, as it was, her muscles were stiffening up in a way that was so painful she couldn't make the shift back. She wasn't healing. Again, she thought about how little she actually knew of the monsters she had just faced down. Were these body snatching cannibals poisonous?

A whimper escaped her snarling lips, followed by a low growl at how weak she was acting. Tori couldn't help but curse everything again. Damn this ungrateful hunter! Damn her own stupid conscious! And certainly damn all venomous demi-demons straight back to where they came from!


	3. Chapter 3

Ch.3

**Invader Johnny, are you being mean to me? I can't tell Rio, but anyways, I'll play. J Thanks for all the support guys. Read, Like, Comment.**

Never before had Jade fought alongside an abomination. The reality of what had just occurred hit her hard beneath her ribcage, making her heart clench brutally in her chest. Everything they had taught her in the sanctuary was rearing up around her, criticizing her. She was trained to eliminate all supernatural threat to the human world. People, no, things- Jade had to remember that they weren't like her, not human- _things _like what was laying in front of her now were to be killed on sight. That was the way of the Holy Trinity.

Training the crosshairs of her preferred weapon on the thick, dark head of the wolf, the hunter inhaled slowly. It would be quick. The beast wouldn't feel a thing. It was as merciful as she was allowed to be and Jade was grateful that she could at least return the favor to her unorthodox savior.

With the stench of spilt blood thick in the air and the dark creature in her sights, Jade prepared to take the shot. Her finger slowly squeezed the trigger in sync with the exhale that accompanied the movement. The arrow took flight.

"Shit!" She hissed as another figure leaped in front of her fallen comrade. The metal imbedded deep in the flesh of another wolf. Its lighter fur was soon stained a deep red around the laceration. "Does every fucking evil creature in this God forsaken land travel in groups?" She screamed, reloading with trembling hands.

Jade would be a fool to want to stay in a fight like this. She had seen what the female wolf that had helped her out had done to a handful of demi-demons; she wasn't going to stick around to see what her friend could do to a horribly unprepared human.

The low, vicious snarl that the animal let out sent her automatically into flight mode. 'Well, if you can't kill them…", she though darkly amused before pivoting on one foot and taking off towards the entrance of the cemetery. Making careful efforts to avoid falling over rugged mounds of dirt, she picked her way over grave after grave.

Surprisingly, she didn't hear the expected sounds of pursuit but kept at her grueling pace. She wasn't taking any unnecessary chances. By the time she stopped fleeing, she was up the rickety stairs to the dusty inn and throwing things into her one velvet lined, travel bag.

Under seven days, and already she had managed to get herself almost killed by both demons and werewolves. This land, the Americas, was exactly what the Trinity had predicted it would be; a cesspool of evil and filth. Although, as she deconstructed her bow to conceal it beneath her cloak, Jade couldn't help but find the first wolf's actions very different from the norm.

Shaking off the nagging feeling of regret, the hunter steeled herself towards the thoughts that maybe- though everyone and everything seemed disgustingly informal here- just maybe the Americans were doing something right. 'She did save my life after all' Jade rolled her eyes. "Even if she is a dirty shape shifter." Jade muttered walking briskly towards where her horse was resting in the barn, intending to get back on her way with no more unnecessary interruptions.

* * *

Fire. It felt as if the gates of hell were open and trying to swallow her whole. Tori jerked into consciousness, mouth agape in a breathless scream.

"Good, you're up." The annoying drawl came from somewhere on her right and she had to squint into the light that was stabbing at her tired eyes to make out the familiar shape of a woman. Stupidly, she assumed that maybe it was the huntress from last night. 'Returning the favor?' she wondered but, soon adjusting to the midday sun, Trina's disapproving face came into view.

"Oh fuck," Tori moaned.

"Oh fuck is right." Trina plopped down on the hard mattress next to her younger sister, jarring her slowly healing wound, and crossed bare legs. Trina seemed to have been bathing in a basin that sat just at the base of the beds rot iron frame.

Tori groaned again. The dull ache in her side was something she had never before had to deal with, as being a shape shifter meant extremely fast healing abilities. "You're lucky I found you, you know that?" Trina frowned down at her, clad only in her undergarments.

"I know, Trine. I don't need a lecture." Tori rolled chocolate brown eyes at her sister's similar gaze.

"I think you don't know jackshit. What the hell did you get yourself into last night? I let you alone for a few hours and you go off half-assed on a killing spree! This is why no one trusts you, Tori. You're a loose cannon!"

"I'm a loose cannon?" Tori practically lunged at her sister in angry disbelief but threw herself back down on the lumpy mattress as soon as she felt the tight skin on her right side pull threateningly. In a calmer tone she continued, "You told me to go hang out around town while you try to get your skirts ruffled in some dirty tavern."

She had always been disinterested in watching her sister shamelessly flirt with any and all type of man for the cheap thrill of attention and had readily agreed to occupy her time elsewhere. The two Vega's had decided to stay the night in the small town of Las Yerbas on their way into San Bernardino where they were to meet up with the rest of their pack.

"I wasn't in there looking for a romp Tori, I was gathering information." Trina huffed offended. "The only reason I asked you to stay away is because you intimidate the small minded townsfolk, but you even messed that up!"

The younger Vega cringed at the heat rolling off of her sister. If Trina wasn't careful, she might shift from the anger alone. Trina continued ranting, "Not only did you go off and find trouble with a bunch of demons, but you got me shot by some fucking hunter!" She was practically screeching by now.

Tori, for her credit, just glared at the termite rotting vanity that sat opposite the bed. "I had everything under control." She muttered petulantly. When Trina tried to get all parent-y on her she always seemed to want to revert back to an immature six year old.

"Under control? You call almost dying _under control_?" Trina was shaking with disbelief. "Why were you in that cemetery anyway?"

Tori thought back to how she had ended up almost food for some hideous ram-snake goat impersonator. After the tan woman had left her sister to only God knows what with filthy men from all backgrounds, Tori decided to just enjoy the night and the soft light of the half moon.

Las Yerbas was so small that one could see everything the place had to offer by just walking from one end of the town to the other in a two mile straight. She passed the saloon, butcher shop, inn, and post office two or three times before diving off the beaten path and following the wafting scent of vanilla and steel. It was enticing if she were to be honest with herself. And then, to her surprise, that's when she spotted the black haired huntress standing defiantly in the way of death. Her interest was piqued to say the least.

"I just happened to stumble upon them." Tori wasn't going to divulge that to her irritating sister. So instead she shrugged her naked shoulders half-heartedly. She'd be damned if she was going to tell her promiscuous sister that she might have been hoping to have a little fun with an alluring green eyed beauty. She was a shameless hypocrite.

"Whatever, Tori." Trina got up, moving away to close the thin, ugly beige curtains. As she started to dress, she spoke again. "We've wasted four days-."

"Four days!" She had been unconscious for over seventy-two hours. "What the hell Trina?"

"You did it to yourself." The older Vega donned her hoop skirt, covering it by bright frilly cloth. "Anyway, I telegrammed everyone to tell them of our delay. Beck's not happy but he'll live. We have to leave today though."

Tori sat up, hissing out at the excruciating way her healing skin tugged away from the bones of her ribs. This was going to be a long journey to San Bernardino.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch.4

**Thanks for reading guys. OC's are a necessary part of the plot and, most importantly, I own them. Unlike Victorious. Read. Like. Comment. Enjoy! **

San Bernardino was and had been, since the gold rush, a prosperous town. Jade had had specific instructions that upon arriving in the California territory she would be able to seek out a small sister branch of the Trinity in this city. It had been almost two weeks since she settled in the area and even longer since her incident with the Wendigo's and the lycans.

Upon arrival she had made her way towards the shadier parts of the large city, knowingly seeking out lodging near where supernatural occurrences would be most likely to happen. San Bernardino was alive with energy and excitement it seemed at all hours of the day. When the sun was out and shining; wagons and horses, gentlemen and ladies from all backgrounds, and vagrants alike roamed the many dirt packed streets.

Every road would lead both out of the city and oppositely into the city's main square, the design of the houses and buildings quite modern for it being the late 1850's. Each shop seemed to be made of the same rich, material and housed happy city dwellers in their one story structures. The tenant she was currently staying in was a three story boarding house for women; although, she saw more than her fair share of roughs about the halls at night. It didn't bother her in the least because the more these women fixated on their callers, the less attention they paid to her.

Tonight was no different. Jade could hear the roaring laughter that always seemed to start late in the day and end early, nearer the morning hours. "Fancy Lady's getting good business tonight." Jade said mocking the American accent that grated on her eardrums.

The German hunter was currently readying herself for another trip into the city's buzzing nightlife. For the last week or so she had visited different taverns and brothels- anyplace shady really- searching for a lead on where her allies might be located. It had been hard trying to discern between what a credible source was, and what was just the regular suspicious nature Americans seemed to have.

Pulling a tight fitting black lace corset over her generous chest, her flawless, pale skin stood out enticingly. Over that came the stylish, dark heavy cloth of one of her best dresses. The neckline was cut low to highlight certain areas and the translucent material of her sleeves left her shoulders bare, but tickled down to her slender wrist. The skirts of the dress were formfitting, Jade having forgone the difficult hoop skirt in order to show her figure, opting instead for handcrafted lace women's briefs to match her corset.

The banging on her door almost startled her enough to drop the pin she was placing in her thick, fragrant hair. Scooping it up once more, she fastened it into a messy bun all the while leaving tendrils to hang down in her face teasingly. "Hold your horses!" she screamed at the heavy wooden door behind her.

"Miss! Your carriage is here!" the high pitched voice of one of the other tenant's daughters, Molly, she figured briefly, said rather with excitement. Jade smirked, knowing that it wasn't everyday one of these women rode away in a private cab.

"Thank you, girl." The hunter slipped a silver coin into her small hands before passing the slight blonde on her way down the many stairs. Without much more flare, she was on her way to a dancehall she had learned to have been a surprising spot to meet a "rough bunch" from one of her chats with a clueless drunkard the night previous.

* * *

There was a short and almost imperceptible falter in the tall, tan woman's steps as she approached the nondescript building. While humans were wondering in and out of the small establishment, Tori gulped audibly enough for Trina to hear. A hard elbow to her newly recovered ribs caused the shape shifter to scowl appropriately. 'Right. Look tough and keep my thoughts to myself. Just tell him what he wants to hear.'

Once inside, Tori felt that familiar sense of inquietude. The inside was elegantly furbished with plush, leather couches and seats, the tables seemed to be made from an expensive, imported ivory, and the floor was a shining dark granite. The whole place seemed to follow a dark burgundy and jet black theme. From the ceiling hung several medium, extravagant chandeliers; all of which were just accessories to the largest, most intricate glass ornament hanging directly above the center of the spacious room.

Tori self-consciously reached up to try and smooth out the wrinkles in her dingy white men's collared shirt. Her trousers, thankfully somewhat new, were a bit sagging on her lithe frame and she resisted the urge to tug at the fraying suspenders digging into her shoulders. The place contained its usual well-dressed crowd and, unlike Trina- who always seemed to be able to carry expensive dresses though never able to keep up with things like, oh say, money- Tori was painfully underdressed.

Not a minute in the door however, and she was already being practically gawked at. It had always been like this but, before she could develop a full blush, a large hand clamped down on her shoulder. Resisting the urge to tense and growl, Tori let herself be spun around to meet the dark depths of Beck Oliver.

The man that stood a half a head taller than her gave the tan woman a wide grin, canines peeking out purposefully. "Victoria Vega, why I'd thought you'd gone and turned tail on us." His laugh was smooth, like honey dripping onto molasses. It was a slow, deep drawl that she had to stop herself from relaxing into. It was as handsome as he was to look at.

The accompanying chuckles of the few keen ears that had the pleasure of listening in caused heat to rush back to her face. She hated this place. While it was a decidedly human establishment, Beck Oliver and his pack had made it his usual hangout. That meant, as always, that she was on his territory and she answered to him. 'Not that that would change if I where anywhere else.' Tori's gaze darkened for a moment before her sister's familiar elbow made its way back into her gut.

"I'm surprised you noticed the prolonged absence." She smiled as sweetly as possible. Not that it mattered though; pretenses what they were, Beck knew bullshit when it was served to him.

He tightened his grip just so, "Why of course. You see, such an asset like you doesn't go missing for long without my mind starting to wonder."

She took it for what it was; a threat. "No need to worry. I'm here right?"

"Yes." Beck stared into her eyes for a long moment and then dropped his hand, offering her his arm. She took it haltingly, Trina having linked arms with Beck's closest associate, Mr. Cain. As he lead her over to the roped of section of the dancehall, Tori caught a familiar flash of pale skin amongst some of the more human crowd.

At the table, Beck politely sat Tori down next to him with Tina between her and Mr. Cain. The older man signaled for a water and, after their drink orders were placed, business was to be conducted.

"Tori, I expect you have something for me?" Beck asked, casually leaning back against a pristine, burgundy seat.

Fumbling in her deep pocket, she extracted a single, neatly folded flyer. As Tori handed the material over, her eye was drawn, once again, to the crowd near the bar. "What we found on our travels back from the South American regions. El Diablos Rojos." Having emigrated from those regions originally, the words rolled off her tongue with ease as Tori half explained, half searched for that flash of dark locks.

"The Red Devil, hmm? That's a new one." Beck stroked his light facial hair. "What did the natives have to say about this?"

Trina, noticing Tori's lack of a timely response, hopped in to fill in for her sister. "He was there for only a brief amount of time. Apparently, there was a short stunt where a man resembling the one you're interested in was lodging in the native camps. Nothing seemed to be unusual about him, except for the sudden unfortunate deaths of several children and animals."

Tori couldn't be sure but the soft smell of vanilla was tickling her acute sense of smell and she swore she kept glimpsing the stark contrast of midnight hair against ivory skin. Squinting suspiciously, she caught it. There, by a man dressed in an expensive long-tailed jacket and trouser match, was the woman who had been haunting her dreams for the last several nights.

The hunter was currently overtly flirting with the bearded gentleman, going as far as to lean into him to whisper and giggle at something they were discussing. A slow heat was starting to settle in Tori's stomach at the sight, vicious and confusing all in one. Two well-manicured fingers snapped in front of her face, "She something you like?" Beck's drawled question pulled her away from her intense gaze.

Shifting slightly, Tori threw on her best smile and leaned back as casually as the broad shouldered man next to her. "Nothing, just tired from such a long trip."

"Ah, yes. Your sister informed me that you had a small run-in with a hunter."

Tori swallowed hard. She knew Trina had had to tell him, but the hunter being less than fifty feet away didn't make for a very good outcome. "Yes, nothing I couldn't handle."

"Really?" He questioned slowly, searching her face. "It seemed to me your sister found you in the bitch's sights, bleeding out."

"I had faced down a few demi-demons. Nasty fellows really, caught me by surprise."

"And the hunter." He leaned forward.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Found me in a moment of weakness."

The space around them remained devoid of sound for a few long seconds before Beck leaned back once more. "They do that don't they? Hunters are the bane of my existence." He took a sip of his hard cider, smiling frighteningly behind the glass. "Humans that hide behind religion, killing blindly. Prey really, with a little too much leeway in our world."

"I know exactly how you feel, Mr. Oliver." Trina chimed in, agreeing readily, all the while eyeing Tori.

"Yes, a real problem sometimes." Tori said slowly, convincingly.

"Not one I don't know how to fix." His dark smirk didn't go unnoticed. The younger Vega knew exactly what he did to hunters; especially ones that trespassed on his territory.

Although Tori fully knew she owed nothing to the enticing woman that had turned against her in the end, she couldn't bring herself to keep still, knowing she was so close to danger again. Trina hadn't seen the woman yet but Tori had no doubt that if she spotted the hunter flitting around the bar, she would more than likely bring it to Beck's attention. She was going to have to get the woman out of there before that could happen.

Clearing her throat, Tori stood, head lowered just enough. "If that's all Mr. Oliver, I'd love to have a chance at the outhouse."

"Of course, Tori." He waved her off almost kindly, turning his attention to Mr. Cain and Trina, who had conveniently started up a conversation on the stirring of political unrest between the humans in the North and the South.

It took less than a handful of purposeful strides to place herself right at the bar, alongside the stunning woman who didn't even seem to register her presence. Being careful to keep her back to where she just came from, Tori subtly leaned closer to the hunter.

The woman paused in her overly friendly conversation with the hairy man with, now that Tori was closer, terrible taste in cologne and cocked a slender dark brow at her. She warmed at the sight of those iridescent orbs taking her in at once.

"Do I know you?" The German spoke perfect English just like she had remembered.

Tori smiled ruefully. "Seeing as how I assume you don't make it a habit to fight alongside lycans, I figured I might ring a bell." She husked it low into the hunter's ear, feeling her stiffen in response, doing her best to keep the conversation away from adept ears.

Dismissing the man without second thought, the German turned to fully face the badly dressed woman in front of her, hand moving automatically to her side. "Ah ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you. See," Tori nodded her head around cautiously. "I'm amongst family here."

The hunter stilled her movements and, though it was almost impossible, paled ever so slightly. "Victoria Vega." She said not unkindly.

"Does it look like I care what your name is, Ulf. What do you want from me?" Her harsh tone reminded Tori of the fact that this hunter had wanted to kill her, but she shook it off immediately. The last thing it seemed her conscious would want, was for this hunter to become a plaything for Beck Oliver.

"You care because even though you tried to kill me, after I saved your ass, -which is incredibly rude I might add- I'm going to do it again."

"And why would I need your help?" The shorter woman said, irritated.

"That man behind me, Beck Oliver." She said when she saw the hunter's eyes land in the basic general direction of the attractive shifter. "The woman beside him; you shot her with an arrow. She happens to be my sister." When the hunter was looking back up at her, Tori finished her explanation. "You are the sole reason I was late delivering some pretty substantial news and you managed to piss off a very spiteful woman in the process."

"And if I said I didn't care." The hunter challenged defiantly.

"Then I'd say you should start, seeing as how we were currently discussing what he'd like to do to you. And, seeing as how you're highly outnumbered, you might not have a say in the matter." Tori was hoping the woman had a shred of common sense and just took the help she wanted to offer.

"Jade West." Finally, she spoke again. "Save me if you must."


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch. 5**

**Thanks for the reviews guys, it means a lot! This story is definitely OOC for everyone and I like that you're all giving it a try. Sorry for the slow update but happy Holidays. Anyways, enjoy.**

Stepping onto the street, Jade let herself be swallowed up by the bustling crowd. The wolf, Vega, had instructed her to casually make her way out of the high class dance hall and across the street under the gas lamp there. After the tan woman made sure Jade wasn't being followed, she would then join the hunter outside. "Dumb Ulf.**" **Jade had other plans.

The dark haired German was more than a little upset at being interrupted in her reconnaissance. The man, who she had been distracting quite nicely with her ample cleavage, had been surprisingly insightful about recent rumors about a man with a strange fruit. Jade had just been piecing together the mangled bits of information when up strode a lanky, scruffy looking woman.

The warm smell of cinnamon had washed over the paler woman from the woman's close proximity. Not usually one to like being approached so blatantly; especially, if it hadn't been her intention to lure the other person's attention, Jade immediately went on the defensive. When the woman had casually revealed herself to be the wolf from weeks before, a sudden panic began to set in. "Oh God," Jade thought, "the Ulf is here for revenge." But, when damp, teasing breath brushed gently over the skin of her graceful neck, making her mouth go dry, Jade was amazed yet again.

This wolf, this abhorrent creature, was for the second time trying to "protect" her. The notion was ridiculous in a way she couldn't even begin to describe but, for some reason, it was painstakingly true. It seemed that, through no encouragement from the hunter herself, this beast was set on meddling in her affairs. But, regardless of the Latina's good intent, Jade wasn't going sit around and be associated with the spawn of evil. The damn _thing_ was lucky she didn't just say, 'Fuck it', and kill her where she stood.

"What do you think you're doing?" The slightly accented grumble came from just over her shoulder, and Jade made it a point to keep her arm up; still committed to hailing a buggy.

"What does it matter to you Ulf?" she snapped, not in the mood to argue with a dog.

The sigh that escaped the other woman was heavy with a mixture of aggravation and tentative disappointment. "I save your ass, again- even though you rudely tried to kill me after the first time- and you can't even give me the common courtesy of using my name?"

"Why would I? It's not like we're about to team up and become lifelong pals, _Vega_." Jade made sure to be as venomous as possible, not wanting this surprisingly striking woman to get the wrong idea. Just because she hadn't gutted her yet, didn't mean her opinion on her kind had changed.

Finally, a horse drawn carriage slid to a dusty stop in front of the impatient hunter and Jade swung the door open. Before she could climb in though, a tan hand slammed it shut unwelcomely. "Where are you going?" The way it left pouty lips, smacked into Jade more like, "Like hell you're about to leave."

It grinded her last nerve into a messy stump. Facing the infuriating woman now, Jade heard as the carriage pulled away and wanted to scream. She would have too, if not for the countless amounts of people surging by them. Biting her tongue instead, not wanting to waste her breath on the shape shifter, Jade spun swiftly on her heel and stalked off towards her lodging. She didn't care anymore, the damn dog could follow her all the way to Germany if it wanted to; she was just too tired to bother.

* * *

Jade West. Tori couldn't stop rolling the name around on her tongue. She had spent weeks wondering about the mysterious huntress and it seemed this little fact, this tiny detail of the woman that had captured her interest, was like water in a dry heat. She needed it. There was something about the porcelain, sharp tongued foreigner that made her heart thump an unnatural rhythm. That same something had her following the seething huntress into the rougher parts of the city, steadfastly ignoring the constant threats on her life.

Chuckling low in her throat, Tori dodged another flying rock and kept her pace behind the woman. She was just out of arms reach and to the right of Jade, giving her the perfect opportunity to study the shorter woman in the moonlight.

Like she had remembered, Jade was flawless in her appearance. Her skin was like the smooth marble of a statue but Tori could feel the warmth radiating from her; unlike that of any stone. The hair that sat in an unruly mess atop her head was dark and tempting in its aroma. Her face was soft and round, but the looks she cast Tori's way left no doubt that she harbored a harder, firmer layer beneath the façade. The lycan was enraptured every time the woman's tongue would peek out and moisten soft, plump lips and she wanted to lean over and tweak her button nose; if not just to further aggravate her.

But, what was surely becoming her favorite part of one Jade West, were the eyes. They, like she had thought, were green; but that was just at first glance. When the light changed, so did Jade's eyes. The alluring orbs would dance somewhere between a verdant mountainside and a looming iceberg. The wolf didn't know what she liked more, blue or green; finally, she settled on all the wonderful shades they took on in between.

"I swear if you don't leave me alone Ulf, I'm going to feed you silver for dinner." Although Jade was still muttering obscene threats at her, the hunter had lost most of her wind a few blocks back. Now, it seemed, she was just keeping up appearances.

Tori laughed outright. Jade glowered. They had fallen into an easy stride and Tori could tell that the woman was slowly getting used to her presence. She was almost imperceptibly inching her way close, hoping to maybe start up an amiable conversation even, when something rough made her nostrils flair.

Stopping dead, Tori would have been surprised to find the hunter pausing along with her, if not for the stench that was growing persistent on the breeze. "What…?" But Tori held her hand up, effectively cutting off the other woman.

"There's someone coming."

"It's a city. There's bound to be people around wherever you turn." Jade gave a snarky reply.

Tori ignored her. There was something heavy and metallic on the air, a scent strangely familiar; blood. Before she could reach out and pull Jade to her, a blur caught the hunter up and swiftly had her pinned against the wall of a nearby butcher shop. That's what it was. The rancid smell of the uncooked meat had distracted her senses enough to let this happen.

"Jade!" Tori immediately ran towards the offending creature that had the hunter trapped against two immovable objects. Vampire. Tori knew it simply by the lack of a third heartbeat in her ears.

The man's bare back was to the shape shifter, and Tori didn't wait until he was able to sink his fangs into fragile, human skin. She was on him, an animalistic growl ripping him away from the woman she had been desperately trying to know. She situated herself between Jade and the snarling vampire, hands clawed dangerously.

"You seem to just attract danger. Don't you feel lucky I was here to save your ass again?" Tori bit out, as the black haired woman rose on shaky legs.

"Don't flatter yourself, doggy breath."

Before them stood a seemingly rabid vampire. He was only slightly taller than Tori herself and unclothed, save for the loose trousers around his trim hips. Perfectly sculpted muscle gleamed hard, and white in the illumination of the moon and his mop of curly dark hair fell in his beautiful, angular face. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you there lycanthrope. I was distracted by the most enticing smell." His voice was smooth and unnaturally attractive.

Before either of the two women could reply, his head snapped to the side. "Yeah, if you think wet dog smells like a five star meal."

"I clearly stated that I was distracted by that divine smell wafting from the human." The vampire snapped- at himself- and Tori was thoroughly confused.

Was this not a vampire and instead some vampire resembling demon? No, she sniffed the air, this was definitely a vampire but as she confirmed it in her head, Jade spoke in her ear. "A reject. A vampire cast to these lands as an undesirable."

Tori wasn't able to ask what that meant because no sooner had the other woman said it than the vampire was blurring towards them again. Bracing for the impact, ready to keep the obvious mental man off of the human behind her, Tori wasn't prepared for the whizzing heat that shot between her and her attacker.

The man staggered back a step or two before laughing insanely. "Oh no, he's back."

"I told you we didn't get far away enough." The man's second, more cynical voice chimed.

"But I'm so hungry!" His words were joined by two pale arms wrapping around his unblemished middle.

"Then you'll come back willingly, Robbie!" A rugged, alto came from somewhere off to the side of the three of them. All heads whipped in the direction of this new individual. "That was a warning shot."

Jade and Tori exchanged nervous glances. What the hell was going on? Tori moved even closer to the hunter, backing up so that the woman's front was pressed firmly against the length of her back. "Vega." Jade breathed uncomfortably but Tori only growled low in her throat.

She knew the woman was a hunter and probably very capable of handling herself but instinct had taken over and, for reasons not yet understood, her wolf was going wild with the need to protect. She'd be damned if Jade was going to go up against a vampire with two personalities.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience ladies." Out of the shadows of an alleyway stepped a man that nearly made Tori's eyes bulge out. While he wasn't the tallest she had ever met, his girth alone was astounding. He had to be almost all muscle and the shirt that strained against his chest was saying a lot in that favor. "My friend here, Robbie, is not himself."

The way he said 'friend' didn't sound so friendly. But, to his credit, it didn't sound unfriendly either.

The vampire, Robbie, howled with pure hilarity. "That's an understatement! I'm starving." But he made no move to attack them again. He simply stared warily at the sawed off shot gun leveled at him by the intimidating man.

"The name's Andre."


End file.
